


After-mission Twilight

by justbeingmyowngenie



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alive Marco Bott, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Jean Is Easily Embarrassed, Light Angst, M/M, Marco Bott & Jean Kirstein Friendship, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein Fluff, Marco Did Not Die, Not Beta Read, Witness Protection, a little bit i guess, not for the main characters, we need marco protecting jean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:00:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21559732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justbeingmyowngenie/pseuds/justbeingmyowngenie
Summary: Where Marco didn't die but became a witness. Where they're both forced to enlist on Suvery Corps for Marco's protection. Where Marco ended up protecting Jean instead of the other way around. Where they decided what to fight for.
Relationships: Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein
Kudos: 50





	After-mission Twilight

**Author's Note:**

> basically i just wound this up after i got a witness protection au in an otp prompt generator. and i also thought it would be nice if marco didn't die. so here i am making myself better with this canon-divergent witness protection au no one asked for (but my sanity begs for). 
> 
> also i'm still new in the aot fandom, so i guess u can say this is my first jeanmarco fic. 
> 
> anyways, enjooooy! kudos and comments are very much appreciated. i also don't mind feedback. 
> 
> you can also scream at me @ diary-of-buried-hopes.tumblr.com

What’s the worst that could happen? Marco could have been dead when Jean spotted him lying down helplessly on a roof somewhere in Trost District during the breach. But thank God, Jean found him before the Titan could feast over his body. No, he wasn’t able to kill it but that’s beside the point – the point is Marco is alive, he’s upstairs right now in one of the room’s of the Survey Corp’s headquarters, and he’s got confidential answers to reveal as to why, when Jean got to him, his ODM gear was taken and he’s screaming for Berthold, Annie and Reiner.

“Marco?” calls out Jean from outside of Marco’s door, “I brought your dinner. Are you asleep?”

“No, I’m not. Come in,” a faint voice replies.

When Jean enters the room, he sets aside the tray on the draw table and sits beside Marco who has been sitting on his bed long before Jean came (probably, as Jean saw him in the position already) and staring at something outside of the window. Moonlight casting softly over Marco’s freckled face seems heavenly for Jean. Unbelievable. This afternoon he’s only friend is one hand away from death. And _damn_ does Jean feel like hugging the hell out of Marco, he was _so close_ to losing him.

 _Nothing’s stopping you, so why the hesitation?_ Jean’s self-sure side tells him but his awkward shy little ego begs to save himself from an embarrassment like, _Shut up. Isn’t it that too obvious? I mean, even if it’s no homo, it’s still….. It’s impossible!_

So Jean settles for a squeeze on a shoulder instead, “I’m glad you’re okay.” And a small sheepish smile which, _thank God_ , didn’t come out comical.

And Marco smiles. And by God, Jean couldn’t have seen that smile if he hadn’t made it on time, if he was a second too late by then. He would’ve killed himself if he let anything happen to Marco.

But the smile is short-lived. A hint of sorrow crosses Marco’s features as he asks, “I still can’t believe it. I mean….I’ve always thought good of them. Or maybe that’s just my too-trusting self talking. Do you think….” Marco looks up at Jean and whatever borderline-hopeless desperation Marco feels inside is blatant on his sad frown, “Do you think we can talk it out with them? I mean, there’s maybe some other way to peacefully talk things through.”

Yes, there might be traitors within the organization and those three might have been in cahoots, and only Marco knows. So he’s an important person right now, a witness, and the Survey Corps, especially under Erwin’s unquestionable commands, must protect him at all cost – even if it means their lives.

Does Berthold, Annie and Renier know they’re this close to being ratted out? Possibly. But the commander is insisted on keeping Marco a secret so those three would assume he’s dead – why they ran off without checking if Marco’s got eaten by the Titan or not is intriguing but perhaps they heard Jean scream Marco’s name or they just didn’t want to see what would happen to Marco which would nip bad at their conscience – and from there, a top-secret investigation would be carried out.

“You’re really a pacifist huh,” comments Jean. “I supposed Commander Erwin is considering that, right after the investigation of course. Let’s just hope those bastards would cooperate. Though I have high doubts, after knowing your side of the story. Like seriously, feeding you to a Titan?! Oi, oi, I bet they’d do every despicable thing there is just to keep whatever secret they have safe.”

Of course, Jean is _in_ in that top-secret investigation, less of an investigator but more of a witness’ protector. He’s Marco’s best friend, after all. So taking care of Marco, making sure Marco is out of everyone’s sight (no one in the Survey Corps right now should be easily trusted), and protecting Marco in case of ambush is all Jean’s responsibility. Not that he’s complaining, even he would do all those without the law saying.

The next thing Jean knows, the room becomes too silent for him. He wants to say something, anything, but more like, he wants to tell Marco that back there, he was so scared of the future that he might don’t have Marco in it. He was sure he could’ve seen a glimpse of the future where Marco is eaten and Jean is left to deal with the loneliness and how everything they have known before isn’t actually what they are. After the battle in Trost, the reality of the world had broken the Pandora boxes in their heads and now all they can see is reality filled with the cries of the soldiers who died, of the people who were eaten alive, and of a city invaded by Titans and burned to the ground.

But Eren’s Titan transformation and his successful sealing of Trost’s gate rises up a hope in the blue sky that maybe, from here on out, the face of humanity might change. But Jean isn’t sure if he wants to become a part of it. Military Police Brigade is alluring in its promise of safety and security. Not only does he will be protected but he can bring his family to the Central and let them stay there, away from the anxiety of the outer walls that could be breached at any time. And there’s Marco with him, too. He doesn’t have to keep living each day with the terror cloud hovering over his head, telling him how he would possibly lose Marco and it could be anytime they step out of the walls as Survey Corps soldiers. Which is why the idea of joining Survey Corps is suicidal, for Jean at least. And it isn’t only a threat to his life but also to the one he loves.

*****

But Marco isn’t going to be enlisted to the Military Police Brigade as long as the infiltrators within the organization haven’t been identified with enough evidence. And they can’t also leave him alone back in the headquarters. Turns out, he has to go with the Survey Corps expedition outside of the wall to recapture Wall Maria and Jean, being his sole witness protector, has to come along, too. For their inclusion, they’ve been forced to enlist first to the Survey Corps.

 _After the investigation is sorted out, you two can always transfer to the Military Police Brigade if you don’t find the Survey Corps work to your liking,_ were Commander Erwin’s words.

“I don’t trust this decision,” Jean says over the dusty gallops of the horses, “I think it’s a bit risky for Commander Erwin to let us in on this expedition.”

“I had qualms too,” replies Marco whose horse is beside Jean’s. They’re behind Eren’s flank right now, being the second-in-priority. “But he’s a Commander and he didn’t stay in position for a long time and be entrusted with this mission, much more to this corps, if it weren’t for his right decisions.”

Jean considers it for a moment. Realistically, these outside grounds could be where they’ll die and surely Erwin is aware of that. However, there’s a lot more important goal he’s looking at this time – the uncovering of those damn traitors. And they couldn’t risk a valuable witness like Marco. He did want to protest last night during the discussion but thought twice about it and dug through the whole plan in his head aka Let’s Think How The Commander Thinks and opted out the best reasons he can trust at least.

Jean speaks up a bit louder for Marco to hear, “I just thought… I think it wouldn’t be wise to leave us two alone in the headquarters, right?”

Although Jean fancied about the idea for a bit because, well, he had a lot of heart-to-heart things to settle with Marco and he was kind of thinking…. _Ah, what the fuck, whatever, forget that! Geez, Jean. What the hell._

“Yeah, we still don’t know the nature of these suspects, and what if they have more of them out there that could possibly ambush us any second,” suggests Marco.

“And we couldn’t trust anyone in the military so the Garrison and Military Police are out of the discussion.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, what can we do?” Jean turns to Marco, chuckling bitterly. “Do our best to not die here.”

“Let’s do that, Jean.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Marco.”

If Marco is stunned, he doesn’t show it. Instead, he smiles, “Thank you, Jean.”

 _Dammit. That smile again._ And Jean.exe stops working when Marco smiles that smile that could cure epidemics, wash off Titans from the face of the world, end grief and bring hope to whoever sees it.

Before Marco can catch him staring too blatantly for his intentions, Jean turns his apple-colored cheeks away. Curse his heart, his face for betraying his heart, his brain failing him. Curse whatever this thing called love? Like? Infatuation? Crush? What-fuckin-ever.

“An Aberrant!” One of the soldiers in their flank yells over the gallops. Jean turns around and sees three fresh lines of black smoke shooting through the eastern sky. It isn’t far from their position, which puts Jean on his edge because how the hell their formation – Commander’s formation – has been broken to that extent? Jean curses to himself at that.

“Holy shit! There are ten Titans incoming!” shouts the same soldier.

Jean gasps incredulously, “What the fuck?!”

Something mix of sadness and concern and shock passes over Marco’s face, “So that means…. The squads on the right flank….”

It’s certainly getting out of hand on the right side and Jean, with trembling eyes wide open upon a grim realization, can only mutter a gritty, “ _Shit._ ” He then pulls up his orders, calling out the two soldiers behind him and commanding them to tag along with him and be the cover while Allen, the front soldier in their flank, takes Marco away to a safer place within the formation. But Leo interrupts Jean, saying he, Bruno and Allen can take the Titans out.

“No!” Jean flatly objects, “Allen is gonna be in-charge of Marco. There’s no way you guys can take out those---“

Leo lets out a low chuckle, “Are you seriously doubting us now, Jean?”

Bruno adds, “We’d forgiven you for being a jerk but don’t stoop this low, man.”

“What---“

But Jean is caught breathless by the looks of their faces. _Don’t underestimate us,_ is all given away by their feral stares and confident sneers. Their green coats billowing behind them as though they’re dancing to a heroic dance with the wind.

With those conviction, who is Jean – who isn’t even sure about joining Survey Corps to begin with and is only forced because of Marco’s importance as of the moment – to stop these people who already know the hell they’d signed into but are still willing to give away their lives for humanity instead of being contented to live an easy life within the walls like him? He swallows an imaginary lump in his throat and mutters a good luck to his comrades, feeling a teeny tiny pang of guilt on sending them straight to the bellies of death.

And the whole of Jean’s hesitation isn’t lost on Marco. He pulls his horse closer to Jean’s and squeezes him on the shoulder, “Hey, Jean. They’re gonna be okay. Let’s go. We have to move fast so the Titans won’t catch up.”

“You’re right,” replies Jean non-convincingly.

Both of them speed up their horses, not looking back to a pending scene of death behind them.

****

Few minutes after that, lines of green smoke shoot through the western sky, notifying the change of direction. The move of this formation is easy to detect – move far away from where the swarm of Titans is coming from. But a sacrifice is tied at the end of this change. With their formation broken, the Commander might have been thinking of changing routes or going a long way around to their destination. But judging the current situation, the former has more chances of happening.

Allen, Leo and Bruno haven’t come back and Jean doubts they will. They either joined to another flank that was closer to them or the worst-case scenario – they got eaten by the Titans before they could beat them. But as much as Jean doesn’t want to think of the most likely and painful truth of what happened to his comrades, his mind just doesn’t stop wandering to that conclusion. And now, he can’t help but feel heavy upon the weight of the burden upon him because he was the one who sent those people to their demise, even if half of the agreement was them charging through it willingly. He was the one who let them die, although Jean could never hope of beating up those Titans if he were there, but he could’ve done so with them. At least, if he was with them, it wouldn’t be as heavy as this like he’s physically carrying the dead bodies of his comrade on his back.

“Hey,” Marco calls out his attention, “I have to something to say.”

Jean’s eyes are as pale as glass when Marco looks at them, so he waits for the haziness in there to clear out to make sure Jean is actually listening.

“I think their choices aren’t because of your orders,” states Marco, “I think, they also have Erwin’s best interest in mind. Erwin trusts you with me, Jean, and they sure wouldn’t let the one I’m entrusted to to die back there.”

And the logic of Marco’s opinions hit Jean like the first light of sun in the morning. Somehow, the burden doesn’t feel as heavy as it were moments ago.

“Now that you said it, I think it’s safe to consider that,” smiles Jean tentatively before it morphs into an honest smile to Marco, “Thanks, Marco. That helped a lot.”

Since the start of this mission, all he and Marco do is exchanging smiles, which is too good to be true considering they are in a hazard zone. But it isn’t too bad because with these soft gestures, they feel safe despite that soldiers are dying and the world is shedding blood around them.

However, the world isn’t selfless enough to grant them zero cruelty.

“A titan behind us!” shouts Jean, snapping his hold to the horse for it to run faster. Marco looks behind him, eyes widening as he sees a ten-meter Titan running wild to their direction.

“Go on ahead! I’ll buy you time so you can run away!”

“What?!” Marco is enraged. “I just _told you_ that I’m entrusted _to you_! You can’t die here!”

“Isn’t this the time that I should be protecting you?!” Jean is wobbly standing on top of a running horse.

“But---“ Marco is looking up at Jean pleadingly. He can’t let it happen. He can’t lose Jean here. If Jean is gonna die, Marco won’t know what to do anymore.

Jean looks down at Marco, wearing a confident smirk on his face which is really a bad omen for Marco, “I promise I won’t die.”

“Jean….”

But no matter how sad Marco’s eyes can be, he isn’t able to stop Jean. Pumping himself up, Jean charges to the Titan head-on and passes an important reminder to Marco, “Shot the red smoke, Marco!”

Jean takes a momentary landing on the Titan’s thigh before kicking himself from it like it's his bouncing board while directing his ODM gear to the Titan’s shoulders, dangerously close to its face. But he conditions himself to not stay longer near it or else the Titan might notice him before he can slit its nape. He plans on not being caught in action, if ever he is lucky enough or if he can use his topmost speed. Yet plans always fail in reality and in Jean’s reality, he slips off the Titan’s shoulder – _fuck his trembling knees_ – and falls down rather too fast for him to recover and find another angle around the Titan’s body. He drops to the ground with a loud thud, full-on impact of his whole body, and finds himself rolling away from the Titan. Everything stops after the black-out.

****

The thud sounds faint in Marco’s ears, as most of his attention is drowned on anxiously attaching the red smoke barrel to the smoke gun, but he looks behind him nonetheless. His Jean reflexes are much sharper now. There, he sees Jean dropped to the ground and is rolling away.

“Jean!” Marco shouts even though Jean can’t hear him.

The Titan is still running wildly on his way but Marco knows himself enough that he can’t take such one down. It’s ten meters tall and he doesn’t trust his technique on ODM gear in this open area where the only tall thing he can attach himself to is this Titan – the trees aren’t tall enough. And he has doubts on his precision skills, his cuts on the nape won’t be deep enough to kill off the Titan. But still, despite his doubts and oncoming cowardice, he has to do something because Jean…. _Jean…._

And right then, the trigger for his adrenaline rush comes. The Titan turns and heads his way back, definitely to where Jean is. Marco can hear his heartbeat on his ears, his blood rushing miles per second along his bloodstream and without any hard thought on his actions, he pulls his horse back to the way he came from and surges to the Titan from behind.

“Like I would let any doubts make me lose Jean,” whispers Marco to himself as he staggers to stand on the horse. His knees are very close to betraying him – _goddamit, please cooperate this time._ When he draws his blades, he can’t stop himself from shaking. But nothing of his body’s nervous display stops him from yelling over the top of his lungs, “Hey you, ugly Titan! Turn around and fight me!”

But of course, the motherfuckin’ giant doesn’t even stop to hear him out. It’s crouching on the ground, his monstrous hand hovering over Jean’s body.

 _What am I doing, what am I doing, what am I doing,_ runs nervously on Marco’s mind all the while he flies his way to the Titan’s big-ass arm. When he lands successfully ( _phew, that’s a first_ ), he darts across the big-ass long-ass arm and jumps off from the shoulder.

 _Please stick through, please please please,_ pleads Marco in his head as he swings his blade backward for momentum before impaling the Titan straight to its right eye like poking angrily on a meat with a fork. The Titan doesn’t flinch yet but Marco heaves a sigh of relief on his successful attempt. But there’s still a problem with the next eye.

When Marco braces his whole body against the bridge of the Titan’s nose, holding tightly to the handle of his right blade so he won’t slide off and fall and cursing his hands for being so sweaty at this given crisis, he sees Jean unconscious inside the Titan’s grip, his head lolling to the side. Another round of adrenaline rush triggers him and his left blade takes a clean and swift impale to the Titan’s other eye.

“Haha!” Marco is too happy about his achievement. “You think I would let you eat anyone especially my bestfriend?!”

But his outstretched arms cannot handle his weight any longer and, of course, his sweaty hands are to be accounted for, that Marco slides off the Titan’s nose and falls to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Titan’s grip on Jean weakens as it becomes busy reaching through the air for something. Wasting no time because any moment the eyes might regenerate and he wouldn’t let the Titan have two people at once for a meal, he grabs Jean by his shoulders and runs both of them away from the area.

Jean’s horse has gone ahead when Marco turned around to save Jean, so there’s only one left, Marco’s. But it will do. He mounts Jean first before climbing up, so Jean is snuggled between his arms as he rides off the rest of the way rather…..confused. There might have been a lot that happened while near-death things are also happening on their flank so Marco must have missed some smoke instructions. Basically, they’re lost. But Marco settles on following the last instruction they’ve seen – detour to the west. So west it is.

****

Jean is certain he’s on a horse but who’s horse? And wait, he’s still alive? How?

When consciousness comes rushing back in his mind, he feels something warm behind him and only then he realizes his snuggled into someone’s chest. _Whose chest? Where the fuck am I? Who saved me back there? Wait, had Marco ran away?_

“So you’re awake.”

 _Okay, that voice---_ Jean sure isn’t ready when he sees Marco after he turns around. Once he realizes their position, Jean can’t help but turn his blushing face away. Now his body temperature is higher than normal, it is obviously too hot for him to stay in here, and feeling Marco against him is, well, really taking his body temperatures to worst kind of high. 

“I told you, you can’t die there.”

“Yeah, but---“ Jean’s eyes widen, “Wait, you saved me???”

“I supposed so. I didn’t exactly kill the Titan but I bought us time to run away.”

“B-but,” _Fuck it Jean fucking Kirschtein, why are you stuttering?!_ “that’s my job! Oh god, I was supposed to save you, not the other way around. God, this is embarrassing! God-fucking-dammit!” Jean hides his flushed-and-blushed face on his hands. If everything that had happened today is crazy, well that was the craziest.

Marco can only laugh at Jean ranting his disappointment to himself, because really, what’s the worst that could happen?

*****

Okay, so they managed to come home in one piece, safe and alive. For starters, that’s an achievement considering that they’d ventured straight into a Titan hazard area. But rumor has it – though it isn’t exactly a rumor when it officially came from Erwin’s mouth – that the mission is a complete failure. Here’s why: a Female Titan ravaged into the formation, destroying almost half of the flanks, and when they tried to capture it in that tourist spot which is basically just a whole-ass woods, it let out an ugly clamorous howl which seems to have called some neighboring Titans and ate it up but the Titan-shifter camouflaged within the scouts and almost got Eren but Mikasa came and we all know what happens when someone tries to take Eren away from Mikasa and Captain Levi came to get Eren and Mikasa away from the scene, leaving the Female Titan dilapidated but the corps aren’t even nearer to digging out the real identity of that damned thing.

Either failure or success, a mission still leaves behind dead bodies more than the living ones left and this one is no exception. Yet along the way back to the walls, they came across a moral quandary because of some selfish decision of a soldier that had pushed them to leave the dead bodies behind to delay the onslaught of incoming Titans.

And among those bodies are Allen, Leo, and Bruno.

After fixing his horse back in the stable, Marco catches Jean sitting on a crate, head hanging low that his hair falling over his eyes makes him look depressing. But without Jean saying anything about what he’s feeling at the moment, Marco can sense it, even at this distance. He can feel the regret, guilt, and pain from Jean wafting its way to him. He doesn’t know if he’s the only one who can feel it but credits to his emotionally-attuned nature, he knows how to catch something that’s wrong about the person’s emotions.

“Hey, Jean,” calls out Marco when he reaches Jean’s crate, “Got a minute?”

Jean still seems to be out of it but he replies, “Oh yeah, sure.” And he scoots closer to the other side of the crate to give Marco space to sit on.

“You do care about others more than what you show,” blurts out Marco, looking up at the glinting rooftops hit by the rose-colored setting sun. 

Jean turns to Marco, looking attacked at what he said, “Oi Marco, what is that supposed to mean?!”

Smiling at Jean, he speaks up with his bare mind, “It means you have a good heart.”

“Don’t say that.”

“It might not be what you think about yourself but it’s what I think of you,” Marco shrugs as he states his opinion like a fact.

Silence follows them, not just between them but also around them. Soldiers are going back to their barracks, murmurs are forgotten into the wind. It’s the after-mission twilight, where grief is heavy and everyone’s looking for a home for their pain.

Jean declares what must he thinks as a shocking statement out of him, “I’m thinking of joining the Survey Corps.”

But Marco knows it all along, so he nods and smiles contentedly, “I knew you would come to that decision.”

It isn’t the kind of reaction Jean expects from Marco. “Wait, how do you--?!” But it is Marco who has been his confidant, who knows him better than anyone in the Training Corps, who approached him nice and friendly since the first day. Everyone else would be surprised at Jean’s decision but not Marco.

Marco reasons out, “You fit in there, Jean. Remember what I told you about being a suitable leader? If you’re in Survey Corps, I’m sure your skills will be put to use.”

Even now, Jean can’t help but still reconsider those opinions about him, “I still don’t quite believe that skills and stuff but….thanks, I guess.” He scratches the back of his neck lightly.

“I’ll be joining Corps, too,” reveals Marco.

Now, this is the element of surprise.

Jean turns to Marco with eyes wide with shock, “Wait, what?! Marco, are you fucking serious?! I mean, you don’t have to just because I do! It’s too dangerous!”

“It’s not because of you,” says Marco, “I realized it’s much better to offer my body to the humanity than only to the King.” He looks at Jean again, a bit of imaginary sparkle shimmers his eyes, “And besides, you will be there. You’re going to protect me, right?”

Jean _just face-palms,_ “That’s not even what happened today.”

“But you’re going to, right????” The sparkle in Marco’s eyes never went out. “I don’t know. I just feel like, if you’re there, I know I’m gonna be alive.”

Jean isn’t sure about that, and he’s still quite confused where Marco got such trust and why the guy decided to place it on him like a crown. Or no, it’s more like Marco is a King initiating the chivalry rights of Knights on him, placing his trust on both of his shoulders from him to carry throughout his life and live by it. So does that mean Marco just officially entitled him as his Knight of Shining Armor---or Knight of Shining Blades? Whatever, but it seems closer to that, though either way, Jean is gonna do it even without the law saying. The worst things had happened, and what’s the nicer thing that could?


End file.
